Florida Forecast '90 Industries Commercial space

The last year of the decade was a landmark year for the commercialization of space, but the blast-off of this new industry was quieter and slower than aerospace companies expected.

In August, McDonnell Douglas Corp. sent the first orbiting commercial satellite into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Martin Marietta Corp. snuck in on New Year's Eve the year's second major commercial launch, sending skyward two satellites.

But the first successful deployments of communications satellites - without NASA intervention - was far below industry predictions. In addition, the success rate from smaller aerospace companies was less impressive, with only one out of three launches successful in 1989.

In 1988, company officials had predicted six commercial launches for 1989, including three Delta rockets from McDonnell Douglas, two Titan rockets from Martin Marietta and an Atlas rocket from General Dynamics Corp. But the Big Three rocket makers fell behind in coping with a brand-new industry and, at times, just plain bad luck.

The commercial-space industry was created in the wake of the space shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. The federal government decided to switch the work of launching satellites for private customers, often done by the shuttle, to private industry.

Now, U.S. companies are free to market many space services worldwide, approaching even foreign governments directly.

Most of the attention has been focused on launching satellites, a lucrative business. U.S. companies charge a minimum of about $50 million to send aloft an orbiting satellite.

The commercial-space industry, however, includes much more than launching satellites. Other parts of this burgeoning business involve space insurance, space-medicine applications, payload processing, space law and the launch of suborbital experiments.

The commercial space industry is on the verge of great expansion, according to Stephanie Lee-Miller, director of the office of commercial-space transportation. Her division issues U.S. Department of Transportation launch licenses.

Like the railroad or the airline industry years ago, commercial space has its development rooted in the government, but it is poised for growth with private industry, Lee-Miller said.

''The commercial space industry is enlarging daily,'' she said.

On a DOT manifest released in January, there were 33 commercial launches scheduled from U.S. companies through 1995 - 13 this year - including three flights added since the original manifest was released in late 1989.

The department estimates that U.S. companies have invested an estimated $500 million in the commercial-space industry.

Florida is determined to snare, and is mostly assured of getting, a chunk of the space business. State officials are working to get more jobs and industries moved to the state in the shadow of the huge launch complexes at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center.

''It's more than launch pads. It's creating the right environment for space business outside the fence of the launch pads,'' said Bob Allen, executive director of the Space Coast Development Commission in Titusville.

In 1989, the Spaceport Florida Authority board was appointed by Gov. Bob Martinez. The authority, which has offices in Titusville, is charged with attracting space-oriented business and polishing Florida's facilities and reputation as a place to conduct space business.

For decades, Florida and the Titusville area have weathered the boom and bust of NASA's budget. The commercial-space industry should provide a steady industry that does not rely solely on federal financing to keep jobs, Allen said.

Titusville and Brevard County are marketing their jointly owned Spaceport Florida Research/Industrial Park. Located on the high-tech corridor to Kennedy Space Center, the plan is to foster a high-tech center that is the premier area for space-related businesses, Allen said.

So far, the site has attracted the Florida Space Research Foundation, the NASA Space Medicine Institute and a state-financed lunar-soil laboratory, Allen said.

The biggest challenge to the commercial-launch industry in the 1990s is lowering costs to make it affordable to a wider base of businesses, Lee-Miller said. In addition, the United States faces stiff competition from foreign countries, such as the Soviet Union and China, which can offer launch and other space services at less cost.

''Our international competition is getting smarter and stronger,'' Lee-Miller said.

Another concern offered by analysts is that U.S. companies must compete for a finite number of available launch pads, and those pads are shared with government missions. When launching orbital satellites, for example, aerospace companies typically contract with the Air Force at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for launch services.